Barcelona
You could say that Barcelona is too famous for its own good: a reputation for tapas, football and raucous parties in the Barri Gòtic attracts blinkered visitors by the busload. But there’s much more to Barna, as the city is affectionately known, than sangria in the sun.
A few steps beyond the well-trodden alleyways of the Ciutat Vella (Catalan for “Old Town”) lies an elegant city with a unique character (not to mention language), strong civic pride and inimitable culture. In the 19th century, it was a rapidly modernising metropolis and the most prosperous in Spain. With leaps in progress came wealth and a licence for creativity; architects such as Antoni Gaudí raised dreamlike structures that forever shaped both the look and feel of the cityscape.
The 20th century was marked by friction, first during the Spanish Civil War, then the Franco dictatorship and later through the strains of austerity, secessionist crises and upset over mass tourism. But the Catalan capital relishes a sense of struggle – a spirit of resistance that once earned it the epithet La Rosa de Foc (“the Rose of Fire”). Though Barcelona doesn’t like being told what to do, the city has a penchant for pouring each frustration into creative, forward-thinking solutions that burst to life through cuisine, design, technological innovation and urbanism.
There has been considerable soul-searching in recent years. Following decades of transformative, city-defining projects, the focus has turned inward with new ideas about wellbeing, cultural reinvention and balance being embraced on a more human scale. A network of freshly planted parks and pedestrianised streets has made discovering Barcelona’s grid of inspiration and enterprising people easier and more joyous than ever.
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